ANC branches will begin nominating candidates for all the party’s national executive committee positions in October ahead of its elective conference later this year, the party said on Thursday.
Only members in “good standing” would be able to nominate candidates, ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.
The ANC is holding its national conference in Mangaung in December when it will elect those who will lead the party for the next four years.
The ANC Youth League is pushing for a change of leadership at the event. Its embattled president Julius Malema is reportedly leading a campaign to unseat President Jacob Zuma in favour of his deputy Kgalema Motlanthe.
Malema’s predecessor Fikile Mbalula, who is now sports minister, is the youth league’s preferred candidate to take over from Gwede Mantashe as ANC secretary general.
Mthembu said the cut-off date for ANC members and branches to qualify to attend the conference was the end of May.
“From May to August, the national office of the ANC will conduct audit of all branches to verify and confirm their status and membership and also determine how many delegates each branch will have,” he said.
The youth league, ANC Women’s League and the ANC Veterans’ League had been assigned the number of delegates they could send to the conference. — Sapa